This Major League Baseball offseason has been a unique one, as with just a couple weeks until pitchers and catchers report many of the top free agents remain unsigned.
Outfielder Lorenzo Cain became the first free agent to sign a deal longer than three years when he inked a five-year, $80 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. One of the top free agents still available is right-handed pitcher Yu Darvish.
He’s garnered report interest from many different teams including, the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers.
While it was originally believed that Darvish was close to signing with a team, which would signify the first movement on premiere starting pitching free-agency market, it appears that is no longer the case.
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, it may still be a while before Darvish and the other top players available sign new contracts:
Teams don’t believe a deal is close for Yu Darvish, Eric Hosmer, J.D. Martinez, Jake Arrieta and other top free agents, according to sources, even as the 31-year-old Cain’s deal bucked the trend of short-term contracts that do not lock players up past their mid-30s.
The reason for the slow free agent market is due to some teams that are usually big spenders, such as the Dodgers and Yankees, wanting to get below the luxury tax threshold. That would put them in strong position to be major players in next offseason’s free-agent class.
As Spring Training gets closer and these All-Star caliber players remain unsigned, they may be pressed into unconventional decisions.
Darvish shouldn’t have any issues finding a team though, with as much interest as he has received. The Cubs are currently viewed as the favorite by many to sign the four-time All-Star.
